Cooler weather calls for meals featuring hearty, warming soups. Soup tureens used to be a staple in homes and they are making a comeback for many reasons. Soups are easy to make, economical and healthy mainstays for busy families. Tureens can allow you to make, serve and even store the soup du jour in one attractive piece, depending on the material.

Although many tureens are created as serving pieces for fine china patterns, making them impractical for everyday use, newer tureens are made to blend with many different styles of dinnerware.

The tureen and covered soup bowl shown are examples of a more transitional style that could be at home with casual soup and salad dinners as well as more sophisticated, formal dining. The shape is a stylized take on a pumpkin which makes it a natural for a Thanksgiving buffet or dinner table, but it is simple enough to use all year long.

If you are lucky enough to have a soup tureen that has been in storage for a while, why not bring it out and join the revival? No tureen? Click below to learn more about the one pictured. Read on for delicious soup recipes, too!

Would you like to do something a little different in your dining room this holiday season? Will you be hosting out of town guests and want to create a special tablesetting for your meals together?

Is it your turn to have a holiday dinner at your house?

It's not necessary to run out and buy a lot of new things just to have a fabulous table. Using redesign principles, you probably have the basis for the perfect tablescape just waiting to be discovered in your home, right now.

Regardless of the color, pattern, or style of your dinnerware, you can pull together the perfect look that reflects the season and your style in less time than you think. Creative repurposing of your existing accessories will stretch your holiday budget and allow you to concentrate on the main focus of the event-the food!

I've created a quick video using different patterns of dinnerware and possible materials and accessories that may be used to create centerpieces and runners to tie in the patterns with the season. Please click on the link below to see the ideas and do let me know if they have inspired you.

Need more help or inspiration for your holiday decorating? I'm an email or phone call away. Click below in the Quick Links section to contact me.

Clear clutter from your fridge, free up space for party foods and chill out using these tips:

• Use or toss leftovers and any condiments that have lingered past their prime
• Store condiments and other items that won't be needed for a day or two in an ice filled cooler
• If it is cold enough outside, pre-chill bottled and canned drinks in the garage or in a protected place on a side porch or deck.
• Along with the drinks, pre-chill empty beverage tubs, ice buckets and other "cold" serving pieces by setting them up on a folding table covered with clean sheets.

Starting off your Thanksgiving meal with soup is a smart way to slow the pace of the meal and even cut the over-all calorie consumption. Tests have shown that the slower we eat, the fewer calories we consume and the faster we are full, preventing over-eating.

Soups can simmer on the stove while the balance of the meal is roasting and can be served while the turkey is resting before it is carved.

If your meal is being presented as a buffet, it is easy to keep the soup warm in a tureen or a covered casserole. Just before filling the tureen, rinse it and the lid with warm water to "prime" it and help take the shock off of filling a cool vessel with a hot liquid. Dry well so it won't slip through your hands. Fill the tureen either where it will be located or as closely as possible to the site to prevent accidents when transporting it. Many people prefer silicone oven mitts or pot holders that help to keep a good grip on the container. If you haven't used these before, it's best to practice with them before the big day because they are different from working with cloth mitts. Have a ladle resting on a saucer next to the container so that the lid may be replaced in between servings to help keep the soup warm.

If you are serving guests at the table, warm the bowls in advance, if possible, using a warm water bath, then drying well. If your bowls are oven-proof you may warm them for a few minutes there.

I have even read where you can plan to wash the bowls in the dishwasher so they will be finished and piping hot just as you are ready to serve the soup. (If you are one of the people who does this, please let me know how it works.)

All these tricks take only minutes to do and make serving soup a snap!

Place the filled soup bowls on a tray, garnish, and carry in to serve your guests. It makes a wonderful presentation and a prelude to the remaining courses.

Your choice of soup will depend on the rest of the meal as well as your guests likes and dietary restrictions. Some families have a traditional menu that reflects their roots and/or the region where they live.

My husband's family is rooted in Maryland and the Eastern shore, so crab soup variations have been part of the meal for many years. Bisques are simple and elegant to make and serve and I have found a recipe that combines both. It's from Cooking Light so the recipe has been slimmed down without sacrificing taste. Please click on the link below for the recipe and to find more recipes for your holiday meal.

For extra temporary table space, cut a new plywood top to enlarge the size of your existing folding table or to create a new table using a sturdy base.

To make storage easier for larger tops, use hook and eye hardware on the underside to hold pieces together. Sand, paying attention to rough edges and corners. Prime and paint the top to help seal and protect it as well as your table cloth or drape.

You may want to create your own table pad using yardage from your local fabric store. Attach it to the underside of the table top using Velcro strips or tabs, with "hook" part of the Velcro on the underside of the table and the flocked side on the fabric for easy laundering.

Outdoor archways, porticos, inside bay windows, hallways and buffets are just some of the areas that can be a challenge to decorate with garlands, particularly lighted garlands. New options for cordless lights make the task easier using quality materials for a realistic look.

The garland shown uses LED lights that are brighter and long lasting, running more than 400 hours without a battery change. Even better, it has a timer to allow it to run for 6 hours each night. No more struggling to hide cords, remembering to turn off lights to preserve batteries, even in bad weather, or to change batteries in difficult to reach areas.

Give yourself an early gift this year. Click below to read more about it.